Industrial stocks struggled last year as the sixth-largest sector weight in the S&P 500 was confounded by, slumping oil prices, the rising dollar and slack demand for some transportation services, among other factors.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLI), the largest industrial sector exchange traded fund, is off more than nine percent over the past year. Last year, XLI and rival industrial ETFs were dragged lower last year by several of its marquee components. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), 3M Co (NYSE: MMM) and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX).
However, there are pockets of strength within the industrial sector and a lot of that potential strenght comes courtesy of defense stocks, including those held by the PowerShares Aerospace & Defense Portfolio (NYSE: PPA).
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